Laal Rang

Laal Rang
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Syed Ahmad Afzal
Written by	Syed Ahmad Afzal Pankaj Matta
Produced by	Nitika Thakur, Krian Media
Starring	Randeep Hooda Akshay Oberoi Rajneesh Duggal Pia Bajpai Meenakshi Dixit Shreya Narayan
Cinematography	Dhirendra Shukla
Edited by	Shounok Ghosh
Music by	Mathias Duplessy Shiraz Uppal Vipin Patwa
Production company	Krian Media
Distributed by	Krian Media
Release date	22 April 2016
Running time	147 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹ 10 crore
Box office	est.₹ 22.68 crore

Laal Rang (transl. Red colour) is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language black comedy crime drama film directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal and produced by Nitika Thakur and Krian Media. Randeep Hooda, Akshay Oberoi and Piaa Bajpai star in the lead roles. Set in Haryana, the film depicts the theft of blood from blood banks and how the lives of two friends involved in the trade get affected. The film released on 22 April 2016. It received mixed reviews, with praise for the story, performances and production values but criticism towards the slow screenplay.

Plot

Rajesh is a youngster who is in love with a fellow student Poonam. Rajesh meets Shankar, the owner of an illegal blood bank. Shankar also has had a heartbreak through a Punjabi girl Rashi whom he still misses. Though initially, Rajesh is not aware of Shankar's illegal trades, he likes it the instant he learns about it and becomes involved in earning quick money to impress Poonam. Slowly as the business kicks off, Rajesh starts showing off his money to Poonam. The cops who have got the hint of this business are also closing in on the illegal activity led by the Superintendent of police. Shankar confesses his crime and is arrested, saving Rajesh and Poonam's relationship. Five years later, Shankar is released from the prison and he reunites with Rajesh and Poonam. The couple have a son named Shankar.

Cast

• Randeep Hooda as Shankar Singh Malik
• Akshay Oberoi as Rajesh Dhiman
• Rajniesh Duggall as SP Gajraj Singh
• Pia Bajpai as Poonam Sharma
• Meenakshi Dixit as Raashi
• Shreya Narayan as Neelam
• Rajendra Sethi as Pushpendra
• Ashutosh Kaushik as Vishnu
• Priya Gupta as Sunita
• Jaihind Kumar as Harnaam
• Abhimanue Arun as Suraj aka Draculla
• Kumar Saurabh as Shani Baba
• Rehan Kidwai as Dr. Sabharwal
• Sanjay Dumroo as Mithuniya
• Kulvinder Baksshish as Naresh
• Pall Singh as Prakash
• Atul Chouthmal as Sub Inspector Swaraj
• Pushkar Anand as Prahlad

Release

Critical reception

Mohar Basu of The Times of India gave it 2 stars out of 5, wrote that film is half-baked and unconvincing. Despite the grit, it never becomes a riveting film. Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times gave it 3 stars out of 5, wrote that movie has a shade grey and is much more high voltage than an ordinary thriller. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave it 1.5 stars out of 5, quoted that film is meant to be based on two `real life’ incidents, but it doesn't tell us which. Anna MM Vetticad of Firstpost criticized that title is hot but film is not.

Namrata Thakker of Rediff.com praised actor and criticized film by giving it 2.5 stars out of 5. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV said that the characters aren't insignificant.

Music

The music for Laal Rang was composed by Shiraz Uppal, Vipin Patwa & Mathias Duplessy. The music rights of the film were acquired by T-Series.

Box office

According to Box Office India, movie collected ₹2.68 crore in its lifetime on a budget of 10 crores.

Sequel

Laal Rang 2: Khoon Chusva, a sequel to the film by director Afzal was announced in 2023.